BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
In New York City, Black
women are eight times more
likely than white women to
die due to pregnancy complications,
according to a new report
released Thursday by the
public advocate’s offi ce.
“This report details the
causes of maternal morbidity,
the deep disparities in who receives
adequate care and who
faces greatest pain and tragedy,”
said Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams, whose report,
“Equitable Pregnancy
Outcomes for Black and Brown
New Yorkers,” details disparities
that contribute to the maternal
morbidity on both the
local and national level.
“When I fi rst began working
on issues of Black and Brown
maternal health, and on these
bills, I had no idea how personally
it would affect my family
— but I knew, I had met and
spoken with, the families of
so many who had experienced
inequity and tragic loss,” said
Williams, who, earlier this
week, shared in an exclusive
interview with PIX11 that he
and his wife, India Sneed, have
had a tumultuous journey to
pregnancy themselves.
“This report details the
causes of maternal morbidity,
the deep disparities in who receives
COURIER LIFE, N 28 OVEMBER 19-25, 2021
adequate care and who
faces greatest pain and tragedy,”
Williams said Thursday.
“It tells the stories behind the
statistics, and highlights solutions
that can save lives. It is
critical, it is urgent, that we
pass these bills in the City
Council, and continue the
work on a state and federal
level, to help promote health
and prevent tragedy from pre
to post-pregnancy.”
The report recommends
that the City Council pass a
slate of maternal health bills
introduced by the public advocate,
including legislation
which would establish a maternal
health bill of rights,
and require employers to hold
an onboarding meeting to discuss
an employee’s reintegration
back into the workplace
after parental leave.
The report also urges the
passage of the Black Maternal
Health Momnibus Act, legislation
tucked into the country’s
larger Build Back Better package
which would make historic
investments to promote maternal
health equity nationwide.
At a Nov. 11 press conference
at Brownsville’s Brookdale
Hospital, Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer also
called for its passage, as well
as the expansion of Medicaid
for mothers to include yearlong
postpartum coverage and
doula and midwife services.
“We’re here to talk about
one of the greatest health crises
America faces, but it doesn’t
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined colleagues and healthcare
advocates in calling for the passage of the Momnibus Act at a Nov.
11 press conference at Brookdale Hospital. Chuck Schumer’s offi ce
get enough focus, enough attention
or enough dollars,”
Schumer said, standing alongside
Brooklyn Rep. Yvette
Clarke, Assemblymembers Latrice
Walker and Stefani Zinerman,
members of the Olori
Sisterhood and other Black
women leading the charge for
equitable healthcare.
“It’s not COVID-19 we’re
talking about,” he said.
“We’re talking about a crisis
that’s been going on decades
and decades longer, and that is
the maternal health crisis.”
The senate majority leader
stressed Thursday that the
maternal health crisis is
“only further exasperated for
expectant women of color in
New York,” where women are
nearly three times more likely
to experience severe maternal
morbidity than white women.
“This legislation must —
must, must must — be included
in the House bill and passed
through the senate reconciliation
process,” said Clarke, who
represents parts of Central and
South Brooklyn, and co-chairs
the Congressional Caucus on
Black Women and Girls. “The
only other option is failure to
support women.”
Health
Pols call for passage
of ‘Momnibus Act’
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